"The thousand and one nights" exhibition casts a spell at the Arab World Institute in Paris

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, March 29, 2024


"The thousand and one nights" exhibition casts a spell at the Arab World Institute in Paris
A hair brooch designed by French glass designer Rene Lalique displayed during the exhibition entitled "Les Mille et Une nuits" (The thousand and one nights) at the Arab World Institute (IMA) in Paris. The event runs until April 28, 2013. AFP PHOTO/ BERTRAND GUAY.



PARIS (AFP).- Full of flying carpets, genies, love and battle, a Paris show that opened Tuesday lifts the curtain on "One Thousand and One Nights", exploring the roots of the folk tales and their powerful influence in the West.

Through some 350 manuscripts, artworks, artefacts and film clips, the show at the Arab World Institute traces the tales' journey from their origin in Indian and Persian folkore, to their translation into Arabic in the eighth century.

And it highlights how the French Orientalist Antoine Galland brought the "Nights" to Western audiences in 1704, translating a manuscript of 35 original tales, and weaving in 35 others gleaned from his studies of the region.

Aladdin, Sindbad and Ali Baba -- figures today entrenched in Western popular culture, as illustrated by a 19th-century lithograph advertising a London play on Sindbad -- all owe their glory to Galland's creative reworking of the tales.

"The Thousand and One Nights cast their spell over all the arts, from theatre to fashion, music to cinema, painting to opera, photography or literature, generating more images than any other work of the mind," write the curators Elodie Bouffard and Anne-Alexandra Joyard in their introduction to the show.

Equally mythical is the storyteller, queen Scheherazade, who legend has it earned a day's respite from execution from a cruel, womanising king by promising -- cliffhanger-style -- a new instalment of her tales each night.

A Pablo Picasso sketch and an abstract painting by Rene Magritte feature among the many representations of the beguiling beauty at the heart of "The Arabian nights", as the tales are sometimes known in the English-speaking world.

"Scheherazade remains for many a symbol of the emancipating power of speech, of knowledge's triumph over tyranny and a woman's courage in the face of injustice," write the curators.

The show also notes, however, that some modern feminists blame the figure of Scheherazade for perpetuating a narrow vision of women in the Arab world.

Wood-and-bone doors from 15th century Egypt or Syria, or a tiny glazed ceramic oil lamp from ninth-century Egypt -- intend to recreate the setting of the tales, between the great cities of Baghdad, Damascus or Cairo.

And visitors can settle into a listening booth to hear one of 15 tales, or catch a clip from one of 12 movies inspired by the "Nights", from the 1924 "The Thief of Baghdad" with Douglas Fairbanks to Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1974 version.

"The Thousand and One Nights" runs until April 28.



ec/txw


© 1994-2012 Agence France-Presse










Today's News

November 30, 2012

"The thousand and one nights" exhibition casts a spell at the Arab World Institute in Paris

Christie's London Autumn Russian Art Week Sales achieve a combined $26.7 million

Sotheby's London November 2012 Russian Art Sales Series concludes realising $33 million

Napoleon's letter in which he vows to 'blow up Kremlin' for sale in Fontainebleau

Mandala for Crusoe: New works by Francesco Clemente at Blain/Southern in London

Jimi Hendrix owned and worn 'gypsy style' vest leads Heritage Auctions entertainment and music event

Sotheby's Paris announces sale of Art Nouveau masterpieces formerly in the Garden Museum, Nagoya

Exhibition in Los Angeles explores maps and monuments through diverse works

Survey of American artist Gary Simmons's career opens at Metro Pictures in New York

Exhibition of new paintings by Carroll Dunham opens at Gladstone Gallery in New York

Toledo Museum of Art acquires sculpture by noted Spanish artist Jaume Plensa

New mixed media paintings by American artist Greg Miller at Scream Gallery in London

'World's largest horse-drawn hearse: 19th-century carriage is a Czech museum hit

Tick, Tack, Tick, Tack, Tick: Stuart Whipps exhibits at David Dale Gallery in Glasgow

Crusader sword captured from Mamluk Arsena in Alexandria gives £163,250 edge to Bonhams sale

"Bubbles and bankruptcy: Financial crises in Britain since 1700" opens at the British Museum

Entire collection of decorative arts recently acquired by the Art Gallery of South Australia goes on display

Survey of the work by contemporary photographer Jeff Wall opens at the National Gallery of Victoria

Sotheby's Milan sells a small canvas by Giorgio Morandi for 420,750 Euro

New series of Photorealist oil paintings by Israeli artist Yigal Ozeri on view at Mike Weiss Gallery




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful